White Flag
by pyro-pixiechik
Summary: Songfic about Ishtar's feelings. Ishtar is happily married to Seiliez, but her heart still yearns for another.


As the sun rose, Ishtar stared down from the window of Seiliez's room, holding Duzell in her arms. It was about six months since she got married to the beautiful prince of La Naan. It wasn't that she was unhappy; she did love Seiliez. But there was someone else, too, someone who didn't return her feelings, at least, not anymore.

_I know you think that I shouldn't still love you_

_Or tell you that._

_But if I didn't say it,_

_Well I'd still have felt it._

_Where's the sense in that?_

She hadn't seen Darres since the night of her wedding, unless she counted using the Ruelle mirror that he left her. That night, Darres was one of the few who were alone while everyone else was having a good time. Even Ishtar managed to enjoy it. But Darres was gone before she could say good-bye to him.

_I promise I'm not trying to make your life harder_

_Or return to where we were._

Last she heard from him was a month ago, through the mirror. Their conversation was short, but Ishtar would never forget what he told her.

"I have a girlfriend now. We've been together for several months," he said.

Ishtar felt like someone had slapped her. It was not because Darres had a girlfriend, but because he said it so casually, as if he never had feelings for her.

_But I will go down with this ship._

_And I won't put my hands up and surrender._

_There will be no white flag above my door._

_I'm in love, and always will be._

When they finished their talk, Ishtar had laid in bed for hours, forcing herself not to cry.

"Who am I to complain?" she thought. "I'm the one who's married."

She understood completely if Darres actually never had feelings for her. After all, he was constantly babysitting her, not to mention the amount of stress she had given him through the years, always in the face of chaos.

_I know I left too much mess and destruction_

_To come back again._

_And I caused nothing but trouble_

_I understand if you_

_Can't talk to me again._

Yet, it turned out that Darres really did love her, and for a time, they were together. But his feelings for her ended on her wedding night, and she blamed herself. She shouldn't have promised her Aunt Ramia she'd marry the victor. She shouldn't have made Darres fight.

_And if you live by the rules of "it's over"_

_Well I'm sure that that makes sense._

As Ishtar was brooding over this, Duzell jumped down to the floor and transformed. He threw a sheet around his body like a toga.

"What's wrong, Ishtar? You haven't been yourself lately," he said.

"Duzie, you know what's wrong," said Ishtar glumly, turning from the window to look at him.

"What? But it wasn't your fault! Seiliez was placed under that Guardian Spell. No one could've beaten him!" he pointed out.

"Yeah, you're right. But...I just miss him so much," she said.

_But I will go down with this ship._

_And I won't put my hands up and surrender._

_There will be no white flag above my door._

_I'm in love, and always will be._

There was a knock on the door. Quickly, Duzell changed back into a kyawl.

"What is it?" said Ishtar.

"Milady, Sir Darres has just arrived," said the maid.

"Alright, I'll be down in a sec," said Ishtar.

_And when we meet_

_Which I'm sure we will_

_All that was there_

_Will be there still_

_I'll let it pass, and hold my tongue._

_And you will think that I've moved on._

When Ishtar came down to greet Darres, she felt the old feeling come back. Seiliez was already there, talking to Darres, Jill, and Krai. They stopped when she got there.

"Lady Ishtar, how have you been?" said Darres.

"Fine, thanks. Where's your girlfriend? I was all ready to show her around," said Ishtar, letting Seiliez drape his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, um, we broke up," said Darres, pretending not to notice.

"Oh, sorry to hear that. Well, I'm sure you'll find someone else," she said.

"About that..." Darres began, but he was interrupted.

"Lunch is ready," said the maid.

"Oh, good! I haven't eaten anything since last night," said Ishtar. "C'mon, Seiliez."

They both left, leaving Darres to stare after them.

"Wow, they sure seem happy," said Jill.

"What'd you expect? They're married, for cryin' out loud," said Krai.

"Yeah...married," said Darres vaguely.

_I will go down with this ship._

_And I won't put my hands up and surrender._

_There will be no white flag above my door._

_I'm in love, and always will be._

Later that day

Ishtar stood at the doorway, saying good-bye to Darres.

"I'll see you soon, okay?" said Darres.

"Yeah, soon. Remember, you'll find your soul mate someday," said Ishtar.

"How do you know?" asked Darres.

"Hey, I found mine. I just know you'll find yours."

_I will go down with this ship._

_And I won't put my hands up and surrender._

_There will be no white flag above my door._

_I'm in love, and always will be._

When Darres finally left, Ishtar went up to hers and Seiliez's room and looked out at the figure of Darres, growing smaller and smaller.

"You know, Darres, you may find another girl and marry her someday. You might live happily ever after. I won't stand in your way. And even though I still feel the same, I won't give in," she said quietly.

_I will go down with this ship._

_And I won't put my hands up and surrender._

_There will be no white flag above my door._

_I'm in love, and always will be._

With those words, Ishtar got into bed as Seiliez came in.

The End

Well, how was my first songfic? I don't really do Ishtar/Darres pairings but that song was just perfect. Oh, by the way, the title to the "Whatever It Takes" sequel is "Whatever Will Come." I'll have the first chapter posted soon, so hang tight!

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